KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Astros lefthander Wandy Rodriguez will miss his next scheduled spring training start after being diagnosed with a strained left intercostal (ribcage) muscle.

Rodriguez suffered the injury during his second and final inning of work Friday against Washington, manager Cecil Cooper said. He missed two starts near the end of last season with a strained right oblique muscle.

“We’re just going to kind of back him up a little bit to get this squared away so it doesn’t became a major issue,” Cooper said. “He only felt it a little bit (Friday), so we’re going to take the precaution to try to get his squared away.”